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Choosing tree branches for perches

qiaolintan

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Tan Qiao Lin
I'm planning on making some natural wood perches for my budgie, but I'm having a hard time finding bird-safe trees because I live in Singapore, and most information about safe trees are more about trees commonly found in the west.

Would it be a good idea to get branches from trees where lots of wild parrots stay in? If such large flocks of wild parrots stay in a certain tree, would it mean that the tree is safe and there isn't any harmful chemicals or pesticides used on the tree (or at least not toxic enough to make them sick or kill them)?
 

Mizzely

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Birds in the wild would have no way of knowing if a tree has been treated or not.

There is also a difference between roosting in a tree and chewing on a tree. Almost everything is safe for a bird to sit on but you'd have to know whether or not they are also chewing the tree.
 

qiaolintan

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Damn, my budgie loves chewing her perches... I'll continue looking around for confirmed bird-safe trees then!
 

Destiny

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You might try contacting the National Biodiversity Centre in Singapore. They have information regarding native plants that can be planted to attract birds and other wildlife to your garden, so they may know of local trees that would have bird-safe wood. Here is a link to their website where they talk about some native plants that will attract birds:


There are likely many trees that would be safe, but I am not familiar with all the varieties local to your area. A few that I believe are safe include Hibiscus, the majority of palm trees (no branches), mulberry, and bamboo.

A tree favored by native parrots sounds like a good place to start. If you are able to identify the type of tree, then you can also look it up to find if there are any known issues with toxicity. Keep in mind that some fruit trees have toxic leaves or bark, but might still attract many birds to eat the fruit. Wild parrots would learn to avoid chewing the wood, but a bored pet parrot might not be as wise.
 
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